Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 132582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
The man remains steady with the gun, and he tilts his head upward. When he does, I see his eyes. Icy blue, surrounded by thick, dark lashes. His eyes are both intimidating and alluring as he glares down at me.
“Are you from Ripple Hills?” he demands.
“I—no, I don’t know what that is.”
He squints his eyes, only slightly. “Vanora? Did Alora send you?”
“Please,” I plead. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t even know where I am!”
The wolf growls at my outburst.
“Oi!” he shouts at the wolf. His eyes don’t leave mine. “Home. Now, Cerberus.”
The wolf doesn’t hesitate to dash away. As it does, the man lowers the gun and steps back. “Get up.”
I do as I’m told, wincing as I bring myself to stand. I face him and angle my chin upward a bit because he’s tall. Really tall. His jaw ticks as he looks me all over.
“You’re not dressed like you’re from Ripple or Vanora. Where are you from and why the hell are you on my property?”
“I told you,” I breathe raggedly. “I—I ended up here somehow. I really don’t know.”
He narrows his eyes at me, angling his head. “Have we met before?”
“I…I don’t think so…unless you work with Townsend a lot too, then maybe. Probably through Lou Ann.”
“Lou Ann?” He raises a brow.
“My boss.”
He stares at me blankly.
“Um…I’m sorry…do you happen to have, like um…a cellphone or something I can use?”
“A cellphone?” he asks, frowning now.
“Yes—like an iPhone or something? Even an Android? iPad?”
He grimaces, and by the way his jaw ticks repeatedly, I can tell he’s becoming aggravated. Okay, I get that we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere, but how the hell does he not know what a cellphone is?
“What territory are you from?” he demands.
“Territory? I, uh… What? I don’t understand the question. I’m so confused right now.” I swallow hard. “Look, I just want to go home,” I tell him, holding my hands up. “That’s it. I don’t want any trouble.”
“So you do have a home. Where?”
“Um…an apartment…in North Carolina.”
“What the hell is a North Carolina?”
“Oh, God.” I scoff, then I laugh because this man can’t be serious. I’m standing in front of a person who doesn’t even know what state we’re in, who owns a wolf, and has a gun. All red flags.
“I’m sorry, were you born under a rock? How do you not know what North Carolina is?”
He frowns but doesn’t respond. Instead, he lifts his gun again and aims it directly at my face, and I throw my trembling hands in the air.
“Turn around and walk.”
“I—where am I supposed to go?”
“Follow the path north.”
“North…north. Um…okay.” I turn around with a limp and hobble through the forest until I spot the path. I can either go left or right. Right feels like going north, so I turn that direction, but he clears his throat. I glance back, and he points the other way with the gun.
“Yep. Got it,” I whisper.
I limp my way along the path, and within two or three minutes, an iron gate appears. It reminds me of the gate that was in my dreams. Only there’s no heavy fog, and I can see what lies ahead very clearly: land—lots of land. The grass is cut neatly, and a rocky path leads to a gothic black castle. It stands tall, the tips of the dark roof flirting with the gray clouds in the sky. I stop walking to take in the view, my jaw nearly dropping. Where the hell am I?
“There’s an exit that way. Go to your North Carolina and don’t come back,” the man says behind me. I turn a fraction to look at him. He still has the gun pointed at me.
“You’re going to let me go?”
“I don’t care where you go, just don’t ever come back here.”
I swallow hard, but the saliva is rough going down. I wobble to the right where he’s pointing, and though I don’t see an exit, I don’t care. It’s better getting lost than being faced with a gun that size again.
I need to find help from someone nicer than this asshole.
“What was that?”
I spin around and face the man again. He’s lowered his gun a bit, just enough to see me clearly past his hand.
“What was what?” I ask.
“You just said something.”
I frown. “I didn’t say anything.”
“I heard you speak,” he retorts.
“I—I didn’t say a word.”
Frustrated, he lowers the gun. “Do that again.”
“Do what?”
“Think about something.”
“Um…okay.” I swallow hard and try to think of something random. Or clever. Faye would know what to think of. Knowing her, she’d think of a penguin or a baby chick…or books. She loves books.
Who the hell is Faye?
I shift my gaze up. “She’s my best friend.”
“What?” he asks, shock written all over his face.
“You asked who Faye is…”
“I didn’t ask that out loud.” He looks at me sideways. Then as if a realization dawns on him, his blue eyes expand. “Shit.” His throat bobs. “You’re that voice,” he says. “You’re her.”